Duvet
Member
I always thought that this was a strip-tease dance created to meet European tastes (ala Flaubert and Kutchuk Hanem), but I've recently read three first hand accounts from the 1840s-50s of it being danced in Egypt by men, with or without the strip tease element.
It was performed by the crew of the Nile boats hired by the writers, and these crew men are predominantly given as being Egyptian or Nubian. There is no suggestion of female impersonation, and its done purely to pass the time or provide entertainment, as if it was a normal, frequently repeated occurence.
Does anyone know the history of this dance?
Was it a normal dance everyone did, or were the boatmen parodying a female dance (as the cane dance is meant to parody the male stick dance)? If it was a parody, does that imply it was an established part of the culture, and therefore not a very recent introduction? The arghul does make a buzzy sound, so I don't see why a dancer wouldn't interpret it as a buzzing insect at some early date, and perform a dance accordingly.
I have found five travel accounts during the same period of women performing the wasp or bee dance (one of which I think is made up). And of those (including the suspect one) three were performed at private parties and resulted in nudity. So maybe there were two versions, depending on what the audience demanded or paid for. Was it danced equally by both men and women, but social prejudice saw the women as sexual and the men as fun?
Has any modern dancer performed or seen the Bee Dance? Is it predominantly a comical performance? I tried looking on Youtube, but keep seeing nature programs on honey bees, or cute kids dancing in bee costumes!!
It was performed by the crew of the Nile boats hired by the writers, and these crew men are predominantly given as being Egyptian or Nubian. There is no suggestion of female impersonation, and its done purely to pass the time or provide entertainment, as if it was a normal, frequently repeated occurence.
Does anyone know the history of this dance?
Was it a normal dance everyone did, or were the boatmen parodying a female dance (as the cane dance is meant to parody the male stick dance)? If it was a parody, does that imply it was an established part of the culture, and therefore not a very recent introduction? The arghul does make a buzzy sound, so I don't see why a dancer wouldn't interpret it as a buzzing insect at some early date, and perform a dance accordingly.
I have found five travel accounts during the same period of women performing the wasp or bee dance (one of which I think is made up). And of those (including the suspect one) three were performed at private parties and resulted in nudity. So maybe there were two versions, depending on what the audience demanded or paid for. Was it danced equally by both men and women, but social prejudice saw the women as sexual and the men as fun?
Has any modern dancer performed or seen the Bee Dance? Is it predominantly a comical performance? I tried looking on Youtube, but keep seeing nature programs on honey bees, or cute kids dancing in bee costumes!!
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